Continuous-sheet mill and method of making finished sheets



,Dec. 18, 1928.

1,695,910 c;. BIGGERT, JR CONTINUOUS SHEET MILDAND METHOD OF MAKING FINISHED SHEETS Filed Sept; 7, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 18, 1928. 1,693,910

F. C. BIGGERT. JR

COWIIIIUOUS SHEET MILL AND METHOD OF MAKING FINISHED SHEETS Filed Sept. 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN? "folly/A 64 J @W/ M /L 1,695,910 F, c. BIGGERT. JR

CONTINUOUS SHEET MILL AND METHOD OF MAKING FLINISHED SHEETS p rt 1 v r V v "*5 Q 7 H R E 5 'D N i L -1 L L b1 Ni F; M h r m m i Patented Dec. 18, 1928.

UNITED STATES- I La -.510 PATENT OF ICE.

" FLORENCE c. nreennr, an; or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, AssreNon "r UNITED ENGINEERING & FOIl'NDBY COMPANY,

'ZPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

or rrr'rsnunon, PEN sYLVANIA, A con- CONTINUO'U'S-SHEET MILL AND METHOD OF MAKING FINISHED SHEETS.

Application filed September 1, 1922. Serial No..6e1,4os.

The present inventionrelates broadly to the metal working art, and more particularly to continuous sheet mills and an imroved method 'of making finished sheets 6 om slabs.

By the present invention, it is possible to erform a series ofoperations beginning with the heated slabs coming from the heating furnaccsat one end of the mill and end- 10 ing with the piles of finished sheets at the other end of the mill. These operations are performed in a continuous manner as the material advances step bystep through the mill and may include breaking the scale from the slabs, rolling them into thin sheets, cutting and trimming the sheets to the required size, superposing the sheets in the desired manner/0 form packs, doubling the packs and ohargin them into a reheating furnace. The

reheate packs may then be rolled to further reduce the thickness of the individual sheets, Vme'chanically. operated upon by .means for loosening thesheets and then passed over a hot bed to reduce the temperature thereof to a working temperature. Thereafter the packs may again be mechanically operated upon to further loosen-the sheets,- and the individual sheets then sepaiated and piled.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mill embodying means for-pilingthe sheets in a novel manner whereby packs of uniform thickness may be obtained.

A further obj cct of the invention is to 1'0- vide a mill embodying novel means for oublingthe piled sheets. A still further object of the invention is to provide a mill embodying novel means P for separating the individual sheets in the packs.

40 Other importantobject's of the invention will be apparent as the description proceeds. In the-accompanying drawings, there is shown, for purposes of illustration only, one embodiment ofthe present invention, it'being understood that the drawings do notdefine the limits of the invention, as changes maybe made in the construction and operatioirtherein disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of 5 my broader claims. p

.ggn thedrawings, Figure 1 is a diagramplan view illustrating the layout of the 0 18 end portion of a mill constructed in accordance with my invention.

leveling rolls) actuated by a. suitab Figure 1 is a view similar to Figure 1, illustrating the other end portion of the mill layout. I I

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through thescale breaker. and roughing and finishing rolls shown in Figure 1.

., Figure 3 1s a view partly in section and :partly in elevation illustrating the sheet turning and piling mechanism and the mechanismfor doubling the packs.

Figures 4 and 5 are views similar to the 65 left-hand portion of Figure 3, illustrating difierent operative positions of the sheet turning and piling mechanism.

FiguresG, 7 and 8 are views illustrating different operative positions of the meehanism for doubling the'packs.

Figure 9 is 'a plan view of the sheet sap arating mechanism; and

Figure 10. is a view artly in section and partly in elevation of tlie structure shown in 7 Figure 9. I be general plan of a mill layout in accordance with my invention is illustrated in Figures 1 and 1', wherein is shown a'continuous sheet mill embodying furnacesA'for healing theslabs, a scale breaker B roughing and finishing rolls C, shearing mec anism D, pinch rolls E, sheet turning and pack-.forming mechanism F, mechanism G for doubling H for a reheating furnace I, a traveling table J, rolls K, shearing mechanism L, a deep buckling'leveler M, a hot bedN, a deep buck ling leveler O, a transfer table P,'.sheet sepa rating mechanism Q, pinch rolls R, and sheet ilers S. Referring to Figures 1 and/2, it will beseen that the scale break er B consists oflz. set of 4, motor 3} The roughing and finlshing rolls C, for rolling the's eet s individually,'comprise edge rolls 4 and a plurality of stands-of threehigh rolls, eight of such stands being shown, each stand comprising two large rolls 5 between which is arranged a smaller roll 6.

-The rolls 5 and 6 are arran ed to bedriven by suitable motors 7 throng driving means 8. The purpose of passing the material betweena large roll 5 and a smaller roll 6 is to secure' as nearly as possible a line contact 5 between the material being rolled and the theart It will be noted that the arrange- 'illustrated in detail in Figures 3, 4,-'and 5, and

. comprises a table 9 for receiving the sheets fromthe pinch-rolls E. Arranged beneath the table 9 is amok-shaft 10, which .has mounted thereon arms 11-. Positioned at one -side of table 9 and extending parallel thereto is a second rock-shaft 12 having mounted thereon turning arms 13 which normally occupy a horizontal position. v The operation of the turnin and pilingmechanism is as follows: Assuming the parts in the position illustrated in .Figure 3, and a heet a on the table 9, the arins 11 are rocked a counter-clockwisedirection from the position shown in Figure 3 into the position shown in Figure I -whereby the'sheet a is pushed off the table 9 onto the arms 13. An-

- other sheet I) is then fed onto the table 9 and thereafter the arms' 13 are rocked into the vertical position illustrated in Figure 5, whereby the sheet a is inverted and deposited upon the sheet I) to form a pair. The arms 11 and13 are then returned into the positions in which they are shown in Figure 3, whereby the arms 11 push this pairfrom the table 9 onto a transfer table 14. The object of turning alternate sheets in thisma'nner is to produce a pack'of uniform thickness. In rolling the sheets, it isfound that in practice the sheets are apt to be rolled slightly thinner at one edge than at the other, so that, if a plurality of sheets were piledupon one another 'j'ust as they eame'from the last stand of rolls,

'ithislack of uniformity in thickness of the individual sheets would be magnified in the pack and the latter would be considerably thinner at one edge than at the other. By inverting alternate sheets, each pair of superi and b will'be piled and transferred to the table 15 forming a pack. having a thickness of four sheets.

The doubling mechanism compriscsa fluidpressure cylinder 16 arranged laterally of the table 15 and extending at right angles to the iength thereof. Carried by the piston of the cylinder 16 is a narrow flat plate or arm 17 adapted to be projected over the middle of the pack on the table 15, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 3 and in full lines in- Figure 6. The free'endof the plate or arm 17 is'tapered and adapted to engage beneath a roller carried by-a lever 18pivoted at one side of the table 15,- wherebyth'e'platc or arm 17 is forced down upon the pack into firm clampin v of the tzible 15 is formed by a folder 19 supported at one end upon a rock-sha-ftQO exltendi'ng transversely of the table adjacent the position occupied by the plate 17 wh'enthe latter is projected across the table, Normally the folder occupies the horizontal position illustratedin Figure 6. When the plate 17 has been moved across the pack into-clampingenengagement therewith. A section v gagement therewith, as illustrated in Figure 6, the folder is rocked into position illusfl trated in dotted lines in Fi ure 7 and in full lines in Figure'S. It will be noted that the folder has a portion 19' extending from the rock-shaft 20 and joining the main portion 19" at. an angle. The folder carries at the angle between vthe portions 19" and 19" thereofa pinch roll 21 adaptedfor cooperation with a pinch roll 22 carried by the table- 15 to iron outthe fold in the doubled pack.

This ironing out of the fold is accomplished by first-withdrawing the plate or arm 17 after the folder is rocked into the dotted line position illustrated in Figure 7 ,.and then drawing thepack along the table 15 to movethe foildsed end portion thereof between the pinch r0 Aftera pack has been doubled in'the manner described, it is transferred to the charging and discharging mechanism H which carries it into the reheating furnace 1.

After the pack has been reheated, it is withdrawn from the reheating furnace I and.

transferred over the movable table J and passed through a plurality of stands of rolls K similar to the rolls C; After the pack has. been passed throughthe rolls K, it is carried to'the shearing mechanism L whereby the pack, including the folded edge thereof, is

trimmed. The pack is next passed'through the deep buckling lever M,= consisting of p a plurality -of overlapping leveling rolls, whereby the sheets in the pack are loosened. The loosened pack is then transferred tmthe hot bed N and permitted to cool to a workingtemperaturc. At this temperature it is passed to the deep buckling leveler O which further loosens the individual sheets in'thr pack. The loosened pack passes to the table 1 from which it is transferred to any one of the sheet separating-and stripping mechanisms Q.

A sheet separating and stripping mechanism Q, is illustrated in detail in Figures 9 and 10. It comprises a pair of vertical standards 23 spaced a sufficient distance apart' to receive a pack of sheetsbet-ween them and by brarikets 25 fixed to the standards, the rods 24 being'positioned slightly below the path ,of travel of the pack between the standards in order to form a temporary support for the pack. The separating device also comprises a pair of gripping tongs 26 pivoted together at 27 and adapted to grip the leading end of the pack, as illustrated in Figures 9 and 10. The gripping tongs 26carry apair of flanged rollers 28 engaging tracks 29. The free end portions of-the arms of the gripping tongs 26 extend at an angle to and cross each other 4 and are engaged by a link-30 carried by a suitable casting 31 having an eye 32. Any suitable power device may be connected with the casting 81 through the eye 32 to pull the gripping tongs 26 along the tracks 29 in orderto draw the pack between the standards'23 and cause rods 33, insertedbetween the sheets and engaging against one edge of the standards 23, to strip and separate the individual sheets in the pack. The insertion of these rods 33' is made possible due to the loosening of the sheets caused by passing the some through the dos buckling levelers. After the rods are all in position, the free ends of the sheets may be easily gripped by the tongs 26.

After the, sheets have been separated, as previously described, they may be passed through the ainch rolls Rand piled upon the tablels S, really for further treatment or dispose v The operation of the mill, as a vvhole, may

be briefly summarized as followsz-The slabs to be rolled into sheets are firstiheated in the furnaces A, and then passed individua-lly through thefscale breaker B and the rolls G. As illustrated, there are eight stands of these rolls, and if We assumes slab having an initial thickness of 2 these eight stands of rolls may reduce its thickness to .12". The

sheets are trimmed by the shear mechanism to the sheet t rning and-pack forming mechanism F,.by w ich they are turned and piled, as previously described in detail. The packs are then doubledbythe doubling mechanism G and reheated in the furnace I for passage through the rolls K. These rolls reduce the thickness of the packs, so that a pack of eight D and then \ilass through the pinch rolls E .1 sheets, for example, may be reduced to a thickness of, say, .12", whereby the in dividualsheets in the pack have a thickness 0t 15". The packs pass from the rolls K to the shearing mechanism L, by which they are suitably trimmed and then they pass through the deep buckling leveler M, ove1 the hot bed N, through the deep buckling leveler O, to the separating devices Q. and finally to the pilers S. operations occur in proper sequence with a minimum of attention and manual labor.

important advantage of the invention a free end'o-f said member whereby to ariges from the provision of a mill whereby a series of operations may be performed in 'a continuous manner to produce finished sheets fromslabs.

Another important advantage of the in vention arises from the provision of a mill having novel pack forming means. Still another advantage of the invention arises from the provision of a mill having novel means for doubling the packs.

\ A further advantage oi the invention arises from the provision of a mill having novel means for separating and stripping the individual sheets in'the packs.

A still further advantage of the invention i arises from the provision of a mill in which all of the necessary operations to produce finished sheets from slabs may be performed step by step While the material is continuousl 1 advancing through the mill.

.L y application, Serial No. 146,126, filed November 4th,'1926, is a division of this ap plication and covers the packopening mechanism herein described.

I claim:

1. In a. mill. a support arranged to receive a pack of sheets, a clamping member, means for positioning said clamping member across an intermediate portion ofsaid pack, means cooperating with said clamping member for automatically forcingthe saine into clamping engagement with said pack, and rollermeans for doubling said pack about said clamping member, substantially as described.

2. In a milha support arranged to receive a pack of sheets, a clamping member, means for positioning saidclamping member across an intermediate portion of said pack, means cooperating with said clamping member for automatically forcing the same into clampmg engagement wlth said pack, and means for doubling said pack about said clamping ill h) port for ironing out the folded end portion I of said pack, substantially as described.

4. In a mill, a support arranged to receive a sheet to be folded, a clamping member,

means positioned at one side of said support and having said member operativel-y secured thereto adapted to pro ect said member across said support, means at the other side by the as of said support adapted to be engaged the latter in r-hmningengagement vat-5dr sheet, and means providing line contact with the sheet for doubling the sheet about said member, substantially as describec 5. In a.mill, sheet rolling means,-pack forming and doubling means, pack heating and rolling means, means for mechanically operating upon a pack to loosen the sheets therein, and means for separating all of the sheets in said pack, substantially as described.

6. In a method of manufacturing sheets,

the steps consisting in rolling a air of sheets, inverting one of the sh ets an superposing it upon .the other-sheet, and then rerolling the superposed sheets, substantially as described.

7. In a methodfof manufacturing sheets,

. the steps consisting in forming a pair of sheetsby rolling a sheet and placing it upon turning means, rolling a second sheet and the steps consisting in superposing a plurality of sheets to form a pack. placing clampingmeans in engagement with an intermediatep'ort ion of said pack, doubling said pack about and clamping means, withdrawing said clamping means from said pack, ironing out the folded end portion of saidpack, and rolling the pack, substantially as described;

10. In a method of manufacturing sheets, the steps consisting in superposing a plurality of sheets to form a pack, placing clamping means in engagement with an intermediate portion of said pack, doubling said pack about said clamping means, withdrawing said clamping means from said pack, moving said pack between ironing means to iron out the folded end portion thereof, and rolling the pack substantially as described. v 11. In a method of manufacturing sheets, the steps consisting in forming a pack of superposed sheets providing at least four thicknesses, reheating and rolling said pack, loosening said pack, inserting stripping means between the individual sheets in said pack. and prodminp relative movement between 'the pack and stripping means whereby to separate the. sheets from each other, substantially as described.

12. In a method of maindacturing sheets, the steps consisting in rolling the sheets in succession, inverting alternate sheets and p11- v I mg the sheets so as to term pairs, pilingany desired number of said pairs to form a pack,

doubling said pack, ironing out the folded end portion thereof, and rolling the pack substantially as described. I v

13. In a method of manufacturing sheets, the steps consisting in rolling individual. sheets, super-posing said sheets to for: a pack, doubling said 31 l reheating and r 1- ing said pack, mec a? lly operati g upon said pack to loosen th ereirj: inserting stripping means between said sheets,'and producing relative movement between said pack and stripping means to separate the sheets, substantially as described.

14. In a method of manufacturingsheets, the steps consisting in subjecting a pack of sheets to a series of buckling operations to loosen the sheets, cooling the sheets intermediate successive buckling operations, inserting stripping means between the loosened sheets, and producing relative movement between said stripping means and pack to separate the sheets in the pack, substantially as described.

15. In a method of manufacturing sheets, the steps consisting in subjecting a pack of sheets to a series of buckllng operations to loosen the sheets, individually inserting stripping means between the loosened sheets, producing relative movement between said stripping means and pack to separate the sheets in the pack and piling the sheets, substantially as described.

16. In the method of manufacturing sheets,

the steps consisting in forming a pair of sheets by rolling a sheet and placing it upon turning means, rolling a second sheet and positioning it adjacent said turning means, actuating said turning means to superimpose said sheets with one of the sheets reversed edge for edge relatively to the other sheet, doubling said superimposed sheets, and then re-rollin the pack thus formed substantially as described. I

17. In the method of manufacturing sheets, the steps consisting in rolling a pair of sheets, superimposing one of the sheets on the other with one of the sheets having its edges re-. versededge for edge with respect to the other sheet, and then rolling the superimposed sheets substantially as described.

18. In a mill, sheet rolling means, means for forming a pack with certain of the sheets reversed edge for edge with respect to the other sheets, means for doubling the pack, pack heating and rolling means, means me chanically operating upon a pack to loosen the sheets thereon, and means for separating all of the sheets in said pack, substantially as described.

19, In the method of manufacturing sheets, the steps consisting in superposing a plurality of sheets in edge for edge reversed relationship to form a pack, placing clamping means in engagement with an intermediate portion -.of said pack, doubling said pack about said clampin means, with rawing said clamping- .means, rom said pack, and then rolling the pack substantially as described.

20.1mm method of manufacturing sheets, the steps consisting in rolling the sheetsgin succession, superposing the successive sheets in reversed relationship edge fur edge to form pairs, forming any desired number of said pairs into a pack, and then rolling the pack, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. I FLORENCE C. BIGGERT, JR. 

